What do you enjoy the most?

Just curious; what part of the restoration process do you enjoy (or dislike) the most? Restoring blades? Restoring scales? Making scales? Using horn, wood, G10? How about the details: Domed washers, lined spacers?

I would never buy a resto project unless it was very minor (silk purse, sows ear type stuff)
I do like making scales for my razors to suit my tastes but they have to be near perfect blades from the gitgo.

My favorite part is the final pinning after everything is mocked up. Seeing it all come together is when I get excited. Until then, it's just parts. And I love polishing horn but hate the smell and slime when sanding it.

my favorite part of a restore is the work on the blade. I gravitate towards the rusted junk. sometimes im amazed and astounded at what lies beneath the rust and pitting and what can be done to save them! in the vast majority of cases youd never know looking at the result that it was such an abused and neglected razor, and its always a joy knowing they are brought back as daily shavers.

I hate crooked blades. That is the tang is crooked. Don't see it usually until final mock up. I had one recently that was twisted as well as bent, ugh.

Making a blade most would pass on into a beauty it was before.

I would have to say brining an old blade back from the brink of death, but most often they are deep cleanings. I wish I knew more about how to find out what a razor would have looked like as original. Blade finish, washer type and size and of course scale material. However there were no high resolution pictures in the day that most were made. There are those that frequent here that are very much in the know on these questions.

Going over the steel and looking for whatever someone else did. I hope they gave it their best shot. Usually rigged to sell. Hey RezDog... wheres those green hones? Believe it or not there are Elders here too in Salinas CA. If you find something..gotta check what they think. I respect that. Maybe I should put it in found it over there. The slate here is FULL of inclusions and occlusions. Gas trapped in the matrix. I have found smooothe slate but full of inclusions. The garnet here is found down at Garrapata beach. Its a small drive to get there but people hammer it looking for jade.

It's hard to say. I enjoy sanding blades to bring back some shine and I also really like to do the final pinning to bring it all together. Actually unpinning is fun too because you have access to everything and can see inside in a way.

Thanks for the replies, guys. I've only been at this for around 6 months, and I haven't figured out which part I like best. I like it all. My least favorite thing to do is hand sanding, but I don't think there's any way to avoid it. Still trying to figure out how to get that perfectly smooth finish on a blade without 10+ hours of hand sanding. Any suggestions would be very welcome.

I do love making scales. Wood, horn, acrylic, G10, it's all fun. I am in awe of the craftsmanship I see in this forum. Thanks for all the inspiration and encouragement.

Hand sanding is drudgery! But the end results are worth it. I used to put on a movie or two for background activity as I sanded, kept it less boring. Just make sure the movie isn't too interesting haha. The key for me when hand sanding is always to use different directions while making sure to remove previous grit pattern. Going just in one direction can make it harder to get all the previous marks out, might look like you have til its polished and something shows up:(

Still very much in the learning stages, but there are aspects I very much enjoy: designing, shaping and finishing scales; also, I really get into pinning for some reason, especially as it all starts to tighten up and come together.

I'm just getting started too. I've completed only a couple of razors and haven't yet made any scales myself. Unpinning is still nerve-wracking work for me--fear of cracking the scales. Frustrating, too, since I think there must be a good way of doing it that I haven't managed yet. I'm still waiting for a drill press to be delivered. I have a couple of razors with scales that will have to be discarded anyway, so I'll practice using the drill press to take those scales off. I did get a scroll saw and am looking forward to making some scales.

So far, only hand sanding. I'm setting up a polyethylene tent in which to do some buffer work.

Here's a question: I got the Eastwood greaseless compounds running from 80 to 320 grit, and the Woodstock finishing compounds (black, green, red, and white). The gap in between those two sets of compounds is all hand-sanding? Is that correct? At what grit would you shift over from hand sanding to the finishing compounds?

Also, I know that for the Woodstock compounds, I'd start with black. What is the progression after that?

Not fair maybe to post beginner questions on this thread. Hijacking. I apologize for the distraction.

Back to the thread, I got a real thrill out of returning two old razors to good usable condition. But centering a blade still worries me. I never did get the second blade centered properly.

So for me the satisfactions and stresses are both still at beginner's level. That's both good and bad. Bad that my skills and satisfactions are still so limited. Good that I can reasonably anticipate learning a lot more and getting the pleasure of that.

Joe

I love designing the finished look,
I really don't like hand sanding steel but hey it comes with the territory unless I invest more $$ into buffs etc.
But I really do love the sense of achievement after it all goes back together and I look at it and think that I have saved a razor that could get another 100 years or more of use by either myself or someone else in the future.
And if I get the honing right and she shave like butter that is a bonus also

I like the making the scales and the shave test. Well actually the first stroke of the razor on skin. Even doing my usually tests to let me know if a razor is shave ready I won't know for sure until that first stroke. If all goes according to plan the razor will just glide across my skin and take the hair with it without me even know it. I like seeing the lather build up on the razor and leave behind a nice clean patch of skin. I like the fact that you can do alot of different things with the scales, but being able to do all that and make them functional is quite fun. Handing sanding a razor is a PITA almost every time, but getting a razor to be at least somewhat presentable from the condition alot of vintage razors are in is quite rewarding.

I'm not sure if enjoyment is quite the right word for this special moment--relief might be closer to it--the moment at which a razor passes the HHT.

Joe